We've seen some cheaper deals in recent weeks, but this is the best price around for the current-gen versions at the time of writing. Did The Phantom Pain deliver a satisfying conclusion to the MGS saga? Not really, but as a stealth sandbox it was an amazing achievement. With Metal Gear Online now available as well (although access to the servers has been... temperamental) this could be the right time to get hold of a copy. Thanks to oUkTuRkEyIII @ HUKD!

After months of seemingly forced silence from Konami, Hideo Kojima has finally reemerged to announce that Kojima Productions has been reformed. The news was confirmed with the opening of a brand new website for the studio, which announces everything in a very Kojima-like manner. In addition to the studio creation, it was also revealed that the team's first game will be backrolled by Sony, and will be a PS4 exclusive as a result. We've got the announcement video, which features a slightly excited Andrew House, for you to watch after the jump.

This is one of the cheapest prices we've seen for MGS V, and beats the next best offer by around £6. Did it deliver a satisfying conclusion to the MGS saga? Not really, but as a stealth sandbox it was an amazing achievement. With Metal Gear Online now available as well (although access to the servers has been... temperamental) this could be the right time to get hold of a copy. Thanks to oUkTuRkEyIII @ HUKD!

If you're still getting your money's worth out of your PS3 and want to play the latest MGS title, this is the cheapest deal around by far. It beats the next best offer by a tenner, which is a significant saving. Did it deliver a satisfying conclusion to the MGS saga? Not really, but as a stealth sandbox it was an amazing achievement. Thanks to Buzz for the heads-up!

This is one of the lowest prices we've seen for the PC version of The Phantom Pain. It beats the next cheapest deal by almost a tenner as well, which is a huge saving for a recent release. Did it deliver a satisfying conclusion to the MGS saga? Not really, but as a stealth sandbox it was an amazing achievement. It's a shame PC owners will have to wait until next year for Metal Gear Online, though. Thanks to alastairharmer @ HUKD!

Hitting the £30 price mark for the first time, this is a superb offer for The Phantom Pain. It beats the next cheapest deal by almost a tenner as well, which is a huge saving for a recent release. Did it deliver a satisfying conclusion to the MGS saga? Not really, but as a stealth sandbox it was an amazing achievement. With Metal Gear Online arriving next week, this could be the right time to get hold of a copy. Thanks to KoopaDuckie @ HUKD!

Despite the fact Ground Zeroes gave us a vertical slice of what would be on offer, I wasn’t really prepared for what The Phantom Pain ended up delivering. The scale of the game – be it the size of its maps, the scope of the gameplay, and the challenges available – overtakes anything we’ve previously seen from the Metal Gear Solid franchise. You could even say it’s the logical conclusion to Kojima’s work in terms of gameplay and accessibility, with the end result being something that stands head and should above anything else remotely similar.

In short, Kojima has effectively re-written the rulebook on stealth games yet again, but is it the perfect game? That’s a question that isn’t so easy to answer.

Trying to fully explain the story would take far too much time than I can afford to spare here, so here’s a brief summary. After Mother Base is destroyed at the end of Ground Zeroes, Big Boss returns nine years later take revenge on those that nearly killed him, and rebuild his army without a nation. Cue lots of ridiculous plot twists, robotic arms, and fights with supernatural beings in the chapter that fills the gap between the eras of Big Boss and Solid Snake.

With our review for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain not quite ready yet (turns out the game is bloody huge) I wanted to bring up a topic that came to me within the first few hours of gameplay. You see, on top of providing a top-notch stealth experience, Kojima Productions have also delivered something I wasn’t expecting at the time – tense set-pieces that could have been from a survival horror game. Before I go any further, let’s make it clear that **this article will discuss spoilers from the first few hours of MGSV.** Turn back now if you’ve yet to play the game and don’t want to wreck the experience for yourself.

When you look at some of the best horror experiences in gaming – Silent Hill, Outlast, System Shock, Amnesia, Five Nights at Freddy's – they all share that feeling of weakness against a relentless foe. Players may gain a way to fight back or survive a little better, but more often than not the danger is amplified just as things get familiar, and the process begins anew. P.T. had already demonstrated how well Kojima (with the help of Guillermo del Toro) could create a similar horror experience, but I was surprised to find that it was MGSV that truly made me realise how good it could have been.

It isn't the cheapest price we've seen, but thanks to VGB's voucher code you can save around £3 over the next best offer elsewhere. We're still waiting on our review code to arrive (*sigh*) but if Jon's preview session impressions are anything to go by - or the many reviews already online - The Phantom Pain might well be the perfect finish to the Metal Gear Solid saga. Cheers to Buzz for the heads-up!

We're only days away from the first big release of 2015's silly season, with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain launching next Tuesday. To mark its impending release, series creator Hideo Kojima has directed a brand new launch trailer that's special for two reasons. Firstly, it's incredibly nostalgic as it takes a look back at all the major instalments over the last 17 years. Secondly, this is (almost certainly) the last Kojima-directed Metal Gear trailer we'll ever see. As such, we've got both the launch trailer, and the cheapest prices for all systems, for you to check out after the jump.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has an incredible open world to explore and exploit. You'll discover resources to collect, from raw diamonds to processed metals medicinal herbs. You'll use helium balloons to extract unconscious enemy personnel and even animals, whisking them away via helicopter. You'll even find saucy posters, music and propaganda.

All of which gets sent back to Mother Base, your home away from home. Jutting out of the beautiful blue waters of the Seychelles, this offshire platform is more than just a place to lick your wounds: it's your lifeline. Throughout the game you'll develop and grow it, kidnapping your own private army who'll develop new technology, provide intel and even accompany you into battle. Including a dog who'll grow from pup to companion... and a notorious mute sniper.

It's an amazing set of management mechanics that, while stolen from heavily influenced by Peace Walker, make Metal Gear Solid V even more in-depth.

Having played six-and-a-half solid hours of it at a recent preview event, I can confirm that if this is Hideo Kojima's last game with Konami, he'll be going out with a bang. Blending open-world exploration with an extraordinary amount of gameplay freedom and choice, it's like nothing you've ever seen before yet still unmistakeably Metal Gear. Let me explain in a preview so big that I've had to split it in half!

The game begins nine years after the tragic events of Ground Zeroes, as Snake wakes up in hospital and all manner of bizarre madness goes down. Konami have sworn me to secrecy and that's a good thing too, since you wouldn't believe me if I actually told you. Seriously, a flying fire whale is involved at one point. It's a fascinating sequence that builds on last year's teasers and has major ramifications for both singleplayer and multiplayer.

But you'll have to experience it for yourself. Ultimately Snake emerges not as Naked, Solid or even Big Boss, but as Punished "Venom" Snake, a broken shadow of his former self sporting a bionic arm and a massive metal horn protruding through his forehead and lodged within his frontal cortex. It's up to this once-great hero to rebuild a new mercenary outfit, The Diamond Dogs, and get his revenge on CIPHER and the Skull Face Man in the process. One assassination, mission or tranquillised vulture attached to a helium balloon at a time.

The recent offer to get this for a fiver was pretty good going, but Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for just £4? That's a seriously fantastic deal for a seriously fantastic brawler, courtesy of The Game Collection.

Platinum managed to take their brand of addictive and satisfying gameplay and place it down in the Metal Gear universe as if it always belonged there. My review from last year pretty much covers it, but if you're a fan of Platinum Games or brawlers, or even just a Metal Gear fan, this is an absolute must-have. Thanks to oUkTuRkEyIII @ HUKD for the heads-up!

Hideo Kojima has released the entire Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain demo for all to see, which was previously only available behind closed doors at E3 last week. You'll meet Revolver Ocelot, see how horses and other animals play a major role in the new sandbox, gawp at the dynamic weather, see Snake headhunt soldiers (and sheep!) by attaching them to helium balloons, upgrade Mother Base and get confirmation that other players will be able to invade your HQ in multiplayer.

Oh, and there's also some stealth. Quite a lot of it actually.

The incredibly lengthy introduction is entirely in Japanese, but the gameplay demonstration is in English and kicks off at 50:15. Watch it all below.

There's no denying that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is wicked skinny, but at least you'll have a bit more to play of it soon. Konami has confirmed that the platform-exclusive DLC will soon be released on all consoles, free of charge, which is a nice touch.

Ground Zeroes has proved to be one of the most divisive games of the year, with critical reviews and player opinions all over the shop. Personally I felt that its quality won out over its slim quantity - but felt that the series' fun factor has been totally replaced by a mishandled attempt to be totally edgy. Thoughts?

As soon as Snake opens his mouth and Kiefer Sutherland's soft voice growls out, it's clear that nothing will ever be the same again. Metal Gear Solid V is the biggest shakeup the series has ever received, a complete mechanical overhaul that brings the classic stealth gameplay into a new console generation, keeping the depth intact but making both stealth and action infinitely more intuitive. Everything has changed, from regenerating health to slick gunplay, but in the main it's a change for the good.

However, this ain't Metal Gear Solid V. Neither full game nor free demo, Ground Zeroes is a gaming oddity; a bridging point that acts as a graphical showcase, ephemeral tutorial, versatile replayable sandbox and shameless cliffhanger designed to whip the fanbase into a frenzy before The Phantom Pain's rumoured 2015 release. As such, what will delight some will deeply disappoint others, leaving its value very difficult to pin down.

Ground Zeroes is a curious little thing. Neither full game nor free demo, Kojima's attempt to bridge the events of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and the upcoming Phantom Pain acts as both a FOX Engine showcase, a playable tutorial for Snake's massively overhauled gameplay and a shameless story teaser that sets up one heck of a cliffhanger. With concerns about its length, value and Jack Bauer making headlines, I approached my first hands-on session with a degree of trepidation.

Over more than five hours of contact time, however, I gradually came to realise that Ground Zeroes is more than the sum of its parts. Crucially it's a sandbox; a freeform playground designed to ease players into the new Metal Gear Solid experience by letting us experiment with the retooled mechanics on our own terms.

The scene is set in a lengthy intro cinematic that sees Snake rappelling into Omega Base, a Guantanamo Bay-inspired Black Site in which Paz (remember her?) may have been incarcerated. His mission is to extract her alive by any means necessary, even as we're introduced to the horrifically disfigured new villain Skull Face, who sets a sinister plan into motion involving the nefarious XOF forces. It's an excuse to get Snake back into his skintight stealth suit, but scant seconds after assuming control, you'll realise that Metal Gear has changed in several fundamental ways.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes releases later this month, giving players a taste of the FOX Engine's capabilities, a storyline teaser and insight into Snake's new abilities. However, many gamers are desperately concerned about its value, following a report that the campaign can be completed in less than two hours.

Now that I've spent several hours with Ground Zeroes' 95% preview build, I'm finally in a position to confirm or deny these allegations firsthand.

Or, more accurately, tell you that they're absolutely correct... and completely misleading.

Wow, well that was quick. After ShopTo slashed their prices yesterday, Gameseek has gone even further with an extra £4 saving!

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is set to act as a prologue for Metal Gear Solid V proper, introducing players to new gameplay tweaks (such as regenerating health), the more open-world campaign structure and Kiefer Sutherland. There's some confusion regarding its length and value, mind. Thanks to InsaneNun and oUkTuRkEyIII @ HUKD!

Comparison Shots show FOX Engine in action

The divisive 'Resolution Wars' continue unabated, as yet another game reveals very different resolution targets on the PS4 and Xbox One. Hideo Kojima has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes runs at a native 1080p on Sony's machine, but will be upscaled from 720p on Microsoft's platform. Here we go again, as they say.

Regardless of your stance on the matter, however, a new clutch of comparison screenshots demonstrate that we're in for a handsome visual experience on all platforms - even including last-gen consoles.